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At this point in the presidential election campaign, John McCain’s candidacy depends on two salvation stories. The first story is of John McCain, prisoner of war. The second story is of John McCain, born-again evangelical.
We all know the first salvation story. John McCain, Navy pilot, was saved after five and a half years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
It’s the second salvation story that could easily tip the balance between success and failure. What is this story? It is the story of the moment when he was born again. But John McCain has not told this story, leaving evangelicals to wonder if he is really one of them.
The article, “McCain Hasn’t Ignited Evangelicals’ Passions,” refers to the enduring doubts evangelicals have about John McCain.
Stirring her morning coffee, lifelong Republican Grace Droog voiced her doubts – and those of many evangelical voters – about what she isn’t hearing from John McCain in this year’s presidential election.
“I look for something about his faith,” she said. “It’s very important, it’s what our nation was founded on.”
Her pal Joan Rens nodded; she, too, wants McCain to talk about his religious beliefs. “I wish he would so we would know how he stands on his religious views and where his faith lies,” she said.
These two women are saying that they want to hear something from John McCain that they are not hearing.
Compare this to the last election, when these same evangelical voters were wildly enthusiastic about George W. Bush.
“George Bush has a very compelling personal story, a very compelling religious experience and in their hearts they believed he was a man who loved the same Lord they did,” said Zylstra. “They might not agree with all his policies, but they trusted him that when the chips were down, he would do the right thing. McCain is not a man who incites the same passion.”
What is the salvation story difference between George Bush and John McCain? Bush made clear that he has a born-again salvation story, even if he didn’t tell the whole story. In contrast, if McCain has a born-again salvation story, he has not told it. And this is the real missing piece for many evangelicals.
The idea of a dramatic salvation story goes back to the Apostle Paul. As Saul, he persecuted the early Christian church, until he was knocked down in a blinding salvation experience.
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (Acts 9:3-9, New Revised Standard Version.)
Paul’s experience is the gold standard of born again experiences. A blinding flash of light. Knocked to the ground. A voice from heaven. Stricken blind. Speechless. This is what a real born again experience is supposed to be like.
In certain segments of the evangelical world, people will ask:”When were you saved?” They expect you to tell a specific story of a specific moment in time when you had your own Damascus road experience. They want to know when you were you struck with the sudden recognition that you were a sinner in need of salvation.
I have heard many salvation testimonials in churches. The more dramatic the better. I have also seen people doubt whether or not they were really born again because they never had “a-blinding-light-on-the-Damascus-Road-type” of experience.
This is the reason why “Amazing Grace” has become the unofficial hymn of evangelicals, as they identify themselves as “wretches” who were saved by the grace of God.
The author of the hymn, John Newton, had his own Damascus Road experience worthy of Paul. He was a Christian sea captain, involved in the slave trade, until the time he thought his ship would sink in a powerful storm. He prayed and was saved. He repented his role as a slave trader and become a prominent clergyman.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
In contrast to John McCain, George Bush has a compelling evangelical story. Bush is a master at speaking in evangelical code language, with sufficient hints about his pre-Damascus Road days. When he spoke of his faith, evangelicals understood. “George is one of us. He has been saved.”
But John McCain has not even hinted at a born-again experience and this is the fundamental reason why evangelicals have not embraced him as one of their own.
The real irony in all of this is that few of us have ever endured anything like John McCain’s five and half years of imprisonment as a prisoner of war. The fact that he is alive and running for president is a testimony to salvation, but this is the not the kind of salvation story that evangelicals want to hear.
Whatever anyone says about judges, abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, or any of the other hot button topics for evangelical voters, the real issue for many evangelicals is that John McCain has not told his born-again salvation story. This means they don’t know if he is one of them.
Dr. Kalinda Rose Stevenson
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